Books by Yvonne Vera (editor)
“I remember particularly liking a story by a Zimbabwean writer, Melissa Tandiwe Myambo. This was before I started really writing contemporary fiction (I used to write children’s stories and fantasy fiction) but I knew her. Her story is called ‘Deciduous Gazettes’ and the title alone I loved, the way ‘deciduous’ rolls off the tongue. It’s such a fantastic word. It’s a story about women and regular scandals in Harare. I read it and it was like someone was telling me the story and it was written well, that’s the thing…I felt that it was a very apt title—Opening Spaces—because that’s exactly what it did. For me, it opened up the space for women’s voices. I felt I wanted to start writing these kinds of stories because I’ve got a lot of them I would like to tell. This book is how I got started writing, it prompted me to look at short stories as a form, I think specifically because Zimbabwean writing was included. I just thought it was a good collection overall.” Read more...
Blessing Musariri, Novelist
Interviews where books by Yvonne Vera (editor) were recommended
The Best African Novels, recommended by Blessing Musariri
“We are connected to the spirit and it’s an active connection. It’s not somewhere that’s only in the afterlife, it’s here in the present as well. That, I think, is endemic across all African cultures and traditions,” says Zimbabwean novelist and poet Blessing Musariri. Here she recommends some of the best African novels, books that had a big personal impact and have stayed with her.
